Cheers, January!

I'm really feeling the meme below as we wrap up the last day of the month. How about you??

Things here at HumblePod are moving along just swell, and this week just feels like the perfect week to end on a pint or a strong two-finger pour of your favorite beverage. Fortunately, we've got a podcast to chase whatever your beverage of choice is this week!

???Boldly Hitting the Kentucky Bourbon Trail?

It’s time to hit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail! On the all-new episode of We Built This Brand, Chris sits down with Katie Peninger, VP Account Service at Lewis Communications.

While her career started on the creative?side, the collaborative culture at Lewis?allows her to still be involved in the creative process, just in a different way.

Chris and Katie also break down Lewis’s incredible work on celebrating the Kentucky Bourbon Trail's 25th Anniversary. From the website redesign to a 26-hour global livestream, Katie and her team have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. They also get to bond over their experiences working with their respective AMA chapters.

So kick back, grab a glass, and listen as we distill some vital marketing insights in this episode.

Just a reminder, we recently launched a new LinkedIn page for We Built This Brand. Please join our community over there when you get the chance and be the first to know when we post a new episode!

?? Stuff You Should Know

I'm All Ears (And No Eyes)

It seems with every passing week there are new, conflicting industry insights on the pros and cons of video podcasts. We at HumblePod have our own opinions, and I think this report from a group of German podcast marketers and publishers sums them up quite well.

The short and skinny is this: video podcasts, while great, are not a requirement. It's a fun way to raise additional awareness for your show, but it's not the single key to success.

If you're an online content creator with a sizable audience, then great! Go for it! Engage with your viewers/listeners in as many ways as possible, but if you're on the smaller end of the spectrum or just starting out, you're not going to stunt your growth via lack of camera.

Data so far shows that video will not kill the podcast star any time soon. That said, HumblePod can help you (potentially) become a video podcasting star! (Read More...)

And speaking of...

The YouTube-ification of Spotify

It doesn't even feel like Spotify is trying to mask its odd desires to become more and more like YouTube. I guess video podcasts somewhat make sense on an AUDIO-BASED platform, but not really?

Look, all I'm saying is this: if I want to watch a video of people talking, I'm going to a platform like YouTube. If I want to listen to audio of people talking, I'm going to a platform like Spotify.

I understand celebrating Creator Milestones. 500+ million listeners is nothing to sneeze at, and I won't take that away from anyone who's been able to cultivate an audience of that size. That said, Spotify's program is basically the Dr. Thunder to YouTube's Dr. Pepper.

I wouldn't be so critical of this comparison if we didn't just report on the similarities in monetization programs between Spotify for Creators and?YouTube's in this very newsletter just three weeks ago.

We're going to coin it here, folks.

Welcome to the YouTube-ification of Spotify. (Read More...)

?? Launch A Podcast With Us ???

If you're interested in how we can help you or your business with a podcast, let us know! We've helped launch well over 50 podcasts and generated millions of downloads. We're confident we can help you produce a show you'll want to HumbleBrag about.